Mississippi Rejects Immigration Enforcement Bill
By Sue Weishar, Ph.D.
In a remarkable development, a harsh immigration enforcement bill1 that passed the Mississippi House of Representatives on March 15 with strong support from Governor Phil Bryant and Mississippi Tea Party members died in a Senate Judiciary Committee on April 3, 2012, the last day that action could be taken on any general bills passed by the opposite chamber.2
Work Authorization Needed for Immigrants Provided Prosecutorial Discretion
In 2011 the Obama Administration issued prosecutorial discretion guidance to U.S. immigration officers and announced a nationwide review of court cases of immigrants considered low-priority for removal. This announcement generated great hope that undocumented immigrants who came to this country as young children and undocumented parents with children, seniors, and young adults seeking to complete post-secondary education in the United States would finally have a chance to live and work in the U.S. without fear.
Join the Campaign to End Immigrant Child Detention
On March 21, 2012, the International Detention Coalition (IDC) launched a global campaign to end the detention of child migrants. Research conducted by IDC revealed that the migration-related detention of children is widespread and growing and that migrant children who become separated from their caregivers are vulnerable to sexual abuse and often lack adequate medical care and education.
Immigration Enforcement Bill Fails to Pass in Mississippi
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At the beginning of this year’s state legislative sessions in Mississippi and Louisiana the odds that immigration enforcement bills would be passed in both statehouses looked likely, especially in Mississippi. Republican Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana had been re-elected by a wide margin, and the newly elected Republican governor of Mississippi, Phil Bryant, had made immigration enforcement a major component of his election strategy.</p>
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<p>At the beginning of this year's state legislative sessions in Mississippi and Louisiana the odds that immigration enforcement bills would be passed in both statehouses looked likely, especially in Mississippi. Republican Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana had been re-elected by a wide margin, and the newly elected Republican governor of Mississippi, Phil Bryant, had made immigration enforcement a major component of his election strategy.</p>
None Proposed in Louisiana Legislature
by Sue Weishar Ph.D.
So Help Us God
Life, Death, and Voting Rights in the Texas Colonias
By Michael Seifert
I was invited to come forward and so I walked through a high-vaulted room filled with attorneys. Three black-robed judges looked down at me from their seats high above us all. The judge in charge, a stately looking woman, smiled and welcomed me. Another woman came up and made me promise to tell the truth. The Whole Truth. I did so promise, and I took my seat.
Mississippi Proposals Do Not Make Good Law or Good Sense
Catholic Day at the Capitol
Jackson, Mississippi
February 29, 2012
Mississippi Bishops Challenge Governor and Legislature Not to Adopt Anti-Immigrant Laws
On January 21, 2012, Catholic, Episcopal, and United Methodist Bishops of Mississippi challenged the Governor Phil Bryant and Mississippi legislators not to follow the anti-immigrant lead of Arizona, Alabama, and other states in the upcoming legislative session. The bishops expressed deep concern about the growing anti-immigrant climate in local communities, and they cited Mississippi’s history in their plea for human dignity and rights:
Not Good Law or Good Sense
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It looks like legislators in Mississippi have not learned any lessons from the harmful and divisive fallout of immigration enforcement legislation enacted in Arizona, Alabama, Georgia, Utah, South Carolina and other states. As of February 23, 2012, eight anti-immigrant bills have been filed in the Mississippi State Legislature for consideration in the 2012 Regular Session of the Mississippi Legislature, which convened<span> </span>January 3 and will close on May 6. <span> </span>From a public policy standpoint these bills do not make good law or good sense.</span></p>
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Proposed Mississippi Immigration Legislation Through the Lens of Catholic Social Teaching
by Sue Weishar, Ph.D.
New Report Released on Wage Theft in Florida
The Research Institute on Social and Economic Policy [RISEP] at Florida International University released a groundbreaking analysis of reported wage theft cases throughout the state of Florida. The report entitled: “Wage Theft: An Economic Drain on Florida.
Imprisoned, Forgotten, and Deported
look at the realities and character of immigration detention in the United States, particularly in the South. The goal of the conference was to increase public awareness of the detention system and its impact on families and communities, show how faith communities are ministering to detained immigrants and their families, and explore how more progressive and just policies towards immigrants and detention can emerge. The detention of immigrants in the U.S. is a dire human rights issue that calls out to people of faith and other people of good will for a just response.</p>
Immigration Detention, Advocacy, and the Faith Community
By Fred Kammer, S.J.